I'm looking to help my brother change from manual to power windows in his '00 Grand Am, and I have a pretty good idea on what's needed after looking over our wonderful Third Gen site (the Grand Am site is not nearly as helpful). My question is, what's the difference between power/manual regulators? Thanks.

 

I tried this conversion on a 2nd gen (81 model). After wrestling with
it for too many hours, it became apparent that the power regulators
don't mount where the manual regulators do. So my suggestion would be
to secure some good pictures of where the factory mounts are. The
factory uses 1/4" rivets for ease of installation, but short 1/4'' bolts will
work just as well. (I intend to use stainless, and nylok nuts when I
get around to servicing my power units.) I think the motors are not
case grounded, so a good wiring diagram would also be useful. The
switches are readily available, but the connector might be a bit tricky.
If you junk-yard the stuff, make sure you cut out enough for splicing.

A popular misconception is that these units "weaken" with age.
But the bigger contributors are (1) dirt in the regulator slide/lifts,
and (2) similar dirt in the motor bearings/brushes. So before you install
the new regulators, it would be a good idea to clean/lubricate all these
parts. (Paper clips are very usefull for securing the brushes when
re-assembling the motor.)

Hope this help, & keep us posted.
kk

 

Thanks for the response. My main thought was that it was a mounting issue - different factory locations for power vs. manual. If the actual regulators themselves aren't any different, and simply mounting the motor to the manual regulator could work, I will find a way to make it work. My brother's trying to do it on a budget, and modifying the door to make a custom mount for the motor is right up my alley.

 

I think some clarification may be necessary.

By "regulator", I mean the entire assembly -- the driving gear (either
hand or motor) and the driven lever arm that moves the window carriage.
In the 2nd gen I reference above, grafting the motor drive into the
crank frame was totally unfeasible.

It took me awhile to recognize this, but since the motor drive is wider
than the crank drive, it must mount lower in the door, below the lowest
point of the window glass in down position. This is why the motor
"regulator" unit mounts in an entirely different location than the crank
"regulator" unit. The door frame has holes for BOTH, once I knew what
to look for. I cannot absolutely confirm the identical situation
for 3rd gen's, but that's what I was trying to convey -- that you need
to see a pwr-window door, that will look like what you want to accomplish.

kk

(PS No reflection on your skill(s) intended or inferred.)

 

Well I've never seen a 2nd gen regulator, but I'd assume it's similar to 3rd gen style (pic 1). That's how I thought the Grand Am's would be, but it's not, it's a newer version (pic 2). After looking at the system with the door panel off today and removing the drive lever (manual handle) it looks as though grafting an older, slimmer motor will work. The door panel provides plenty of space to work with, so I'm confident I will grant him his wish of power windows. I can take pics along the way in case anyone would like to see the process. Although, I am not sure exactly how much would apply to 3rd gens, because I know room is a big issue on our doors as well as the regulator assembly type. However, if this works, then my question will be answered and if someone can find a way to mount the motor in a 3rd gen with the manual regulator, that's one less PITA per door in my opinion.

 

Check out the following thread in this forum. It may be useful...

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/inte...regulator.html

 

Just an update in case anyone cares, lol. I got my brother's manual windows converted with minimal modification - took the manual crank's gear, mated it to the new window motor, mounted the motor, and everything works. Now I just need to rig up the wiring and install the factory switches. The whole process wasn't too bad at all. $20 motor and a little time/side. I'm sure the exact same prinicples could be applied to our 3rd gens...as long as room permits.